Processing Note: The materials in this collection were received in a state of extreme disorder and
poor condition. Many of the papers were ripped, creased, and some even bare signs of scorching. The processor has attempted to impose order
on the papers, but in cases where the papers were arranged by Mr. Perotti in notebooks or binders, they have been removed from the binders
and kept in their original order.

Copyright: The literary rights to this collection are assumed to rest with the person(s)
responsible for the production of the particular items within the collection, or with their heirs or assigns. Researchers bear full
legal responsibility for the acquisition to publish from any part of said collection per Title 17, United States Code. The
Ward M. Canaday Center for Special Collections reserves the right to intervene as intermediary at its own discretion.

Completed by: Maria Halovanic, Archival Assistant, Spring 2000.

Biographical Sketch

John W. Perotti, born October 9, 1955 in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1973 he graduated from Lakewood High School and worked
as a machinist, a construction worker and a labor organizer. In 1979, he was arrested and imprisoned for aggravated robbery. He has been
incarcerated at Lucasville, Mansfield, and the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility where he remains serving a 22 to 60 year sentence.

Mr. Perotti is a former member of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). During his membership, he was an
organizer for Prisoners' Organizing Project (POP), secretary for SWOGMB IWW Union branch and Internal Secretary for General Defense
Committee, Local 3 IWW Union. He is also a member of the Prison Law Project of the National Lawyers Guild, American Civil Liberties Union
and Amnesty International. He is affiliated with various labor and political groups such as the Anarchist Black Cross Groups.

While still imprisoned, Mr. Perotti received the Marion Davis Scholarship Foundation Grant, a grant which he then
used to earn a degree in Paralegal Science from the Paralegal Institute. He has litigated over one hundred civil, criminal and
administrative actions, and has represented himself in civil trials in the U.S. District Court of Claims. His degree as well as his
extensive interaction with the legal system has led him to be known in the prison community as a jailhouse lawyer. He has won suits against
correctional officers and has also assisted other inmates in their court cases against correctional officers and the Department of
Rehabilitation and Corrections.

Mr. Perotti cites penal reform as his impetus for his various litigations against the Ohio and the United States
correctional institutions. His goals are to gain release from prison, to work and live productively in society, and to help bring about
change.

Scope and Content Note

The papers are comprised mainly of litigations, court motions
and depositions created over the twenty years of John Perotti’s incarceration at various penal institutions in Ohio, and have been
arranged in six series: S1. Correspondence, S2. Scrapbooks and Notebooks, S3. Printed Material, S4. Issues, S5. Legal, and S6.
Photographs.

The first series, Correspondence, consists of
letters written to and from John Perotti by friends, family, lawyers and various political groups. Because some of the authors of letters
were unknown, or they were identifiable by first name, nicknames or initials only, they have been placed accordingly in folders. Single
letters, whose author could be identified by first and last name, were arranged alphabetically. Multiple letters written by a single author
have been given their own folder. Letters between Perotti and his correspondents have been inter-filed wherever possible.

The Second Series, Scrapbooks and Notebooks,
consists of daily planners as well as materials bound together by Perotti pertaining to law, education and the Paralegal Institute, and
institutional policy procedures for various prisons. Original orders of the materials in the notebooks have been maintained.

The third series, Printed Material, is
comprised of various publications relating to incarceration, prisoners’ rights, the government, democracy and anarchy. There are also
newspaper clippings concerning Perotti's various litigations. These periodicals and newspaper articles help to establish a context for
Perotti's cases, correspondence and activities while incarcerated.

The fourth series, Issues, is divided into
subjects which range from institutional rule violations, prisoners’ rights, transfers, parole board hearings, mail rules and visitors.
Included in the Issues Series are grievances, complaint forms and kites, which are correspondence between prisoners and prison officials.

The fifth and largest series is the Legal
series, which is comprised of litigations and divided into four subseries: cases filed by Perotti, cases filed against Perotti, other cases
relating to Perotti and Miscellaneous. The first three subseries consist of depositions, motions, legal correspondence, exhibits, and
transcripts. Included in the subseries Miscellaneous are FBI files, blank legal forms and cases, notes and exhibits whose case number could
not be determined.

The final series, Photographs, is a single
folder series and contains pictures of family and friends.